2006年VOA标准英语-Opponents Rally Against US Immigration Bil

By Margaret Besheer
Washington
08 March 2006

This week, the U.S. Senate will consider legislation that would define milllions of undocumented persons as felons¹ and punish anyone who assists or encourages them to remain in the United States. That includes doctors and nurses who treat undocumented persons, as well as social workers and clergy² who minister to them.

Thousands of mostly Latin American protesters gathered on the west lawn of the Capitol Tuesday to express their opposition³ to the legislation, known as the Border Protection, Anti-terrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act. They want the U.S. Senate to defeat the bill which already passed the House of Representatives.

But the bill has strong support from the Bush administration, and if passed in the senate, the President said he will sign it into law.

Elvira Craig de Silva, head of the National Association of Social Workers, says her organization opposes the legislation because under it any group that helps undocumented immigrants could be considered criminals. "It would endanger the human rights and civil liberties of immigrants and it would make the jobs of social workers perilous," she said.

Many health care providers, social workers and schools do not ask people their immigration status before providing assistance. But DeSilva says the proposed law would turn them into immigration police, requiring them to report suspected undocumented individuals to the U.S. government.

David Chandrasekaran of the American Medical Student Association says such a legal obligation goes against physicians' professional oath to help those in need. "We did not go into medicine to be told we cannot treat certain people. We did not go into medicine to be punished for healing people when they are sick. We did not go into medicine to become enlisted⁴ as soldiers for the Department of Homeland Security and their war on immigrants," he said.

Many educators are also angry about the proposed legislation. "Education is one of the values of our country; education is the key to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. The proposed bill that we are considering and discussing this afternoon, will destroy that value. It will be a sad day for our country if our laws put education on the level of criminality because we are not selective on those to whom we educate," said Ruth Burgos-Sasscer, a retired⁵ teacher from the state of Texas.

Another opponent, Carolyn DeLeon, who works with undocumented Asian workers in New York, says protections should be enforced for all immigrants, no matter their status. "Turning almost 11 million undocumented immigrants into criminals is not the solution for broken immigration laws," she said.

Roman Catholic leaders have come out against the measure and say they will defy the law if it is passed.

Supporters of the legislation say it provides more resources for border security, criminal penalties for those who engage in immigration fraud and cracks down on human smuggling⁶ operations in border areas.

The bill would also authorize⁷ construction of a border fence between the U.S. and Mexico.

Opponents of the legislation say comprehensive immigration reform is needed that will help reunite families, protect workers and provide a path to citizenship⁸ for undocumented workers currently living in the United States.

1 felons   

n.重罪犯( felon的名词复数 )；瘭疽；甲沟炎；指头脓炎

参考例句：

• Aren't those the seats they use for transporting convicted felons? 这些坐位不是他们用来押运重犯的吗？ 来自电影对白
• House Republicans talk of making felons out of the undocumented and those who help them. 众议院共和党议员正商议对未登记的非法移民以及包庇他们的人课以重罪。 来自互联网

2 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 enlisted   

adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持）

参考例句：

• enlisted men and women 男兵和女兵
• He enlisted with the air force to fight against the enemy. 他应募加入空军对敌作战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

6 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

7 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

8 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。